The spotting of a so-called “trash panda” in Calgary this week has started a stir online among residents who said they were surprised to see raccoons in the city.
Scott Olson checked the camera mounted on the side of his house on Tuesday morning and saw a “four-legged burglar” roaming around his yard.
“I have my camera set up to try to record the occasional burglars and I had a four-legged burglar,” Olson said. “I never knew there were raccoons in Calgary.”
Olson said the raccoon ran around on his lawn for a few seconds before scampering away.
He posted a photo of the critter on the social media platform Reddit, which gained dozens of comments from several equally surprised Calgary residents.
“It seemed that a lot of people were pretty interested that there were raccoons at all in Calgary,” he said. “There seemed to be a fair amount of shock.”
While Olson was surprised to see the masked bandit, he’s no stranger to troublesome animals visiting his yard and has taken steps to protect his property.
“I’ve already dealt with skunks in my yard,” he said. “I’ve had three or four of them living under my deck one year and I’ve pretty much locked down all the entrances, so I’m not too worried.”
Olson said he isn’t terribly concerned, “yet,” about spotting the raccoon at his home.
“I have known relatives that have had them move into their attics…and that doesn’t sound too fun.”
Wildlife zoologist and owner/operator of Calgary Humane Wildlife Control, Ken Cheek, said that raccoons have been active in the city for dozens of years and they’re not nearly as much of a problem as they are in other cities like Toronto.
“One of the reasons they’re so proliferate in Toronto was because the city tried culling them, and it didn’t work,” Cheek said, adding that trying to eliminate the animal actually caused the population to explode.
“We get maybe five, six calls a year of them being in your attic or under your deck, things like that. Other than that, they haven’t been much of a problem.”
Cheek said what homeowners should be aware of, though, is raccoon feces – as the animal’s poop is a bio-hazard, and can carry the deadly infection raccoon roundworm.
He said if you find feces on your roof or somewhere else out of reach, leave it and let nature take care of it.
However, if you find feces in a place where you or children or animals may be spending time, and want to clean it up, you should wear a mask, scoop it into a plastic bag with a small shovel and then throw away everything used in the cleanup.
What can you do to protect your property against pesky critters?
Brendan Cox with Alberta Fish and Wildlife said that while raccoons traditionally live in southeast Alberta, they have expanded to include more central parts of the province and easily adapt to residential areas and cities.
The department gives the following tips for keeping raccoons, and other troublesome animals, away from your home:
- Clear brush piles, debris piles and other places animals could hide out or make a home
- Look for any hiding spaces, such as openings in a deck or shed — raccoons only need a four- to six-inch gap in order to make a space a home
- Keep possible entrances to crawl spaces or attics closed off
- Secure garbage and recycling containers and keep them inside or sealed until garbage pick-up day
- Put any pet food dishes that may be places outside away once your pet is finished eating
- Keep bird feeders out of your yard until winter, when raccoons are dormant
- If you have a vegetable or fruit garden, consider electric fencing if you have problems with pests
A property that attracts small pesky animals could also attract bigger ones, Cox said, so the department encourages everyone to take steps to keep nuisance animals away.
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